Union Bank Joins Home Banking Grouping

Union Bank has become the latest member in a group of banks announcing they will offer on-line banking services with software makers Microsoft Corp. and Intuit Inc.

The San Francisco-based subsidiary of Bank of Tokyo announced Tuesday that it will offer PC-based banking services to its customers in October, using Microsoft's Money and Intuit's Quicken personal finance software. The $18 billion-asset bank takes its place on a list of about 20 banks and financial service companies that have allied with Microsoft and Intuit in the past two months to offer on-line banking.

Customers who choose either of the two top financial software packages can pay bills, transfer funds, write checks, and maintain all their accounts. In addition, consumers using this software can automatically download bank data for use with Quicken or Money's other personal finance applications.